…it was the only viable option Pope had.

if we didn’t recruit the portal like we did we likely have losing seasons the past 2 or 3 yrs relying on Coach Rose’s last several recruits while we wait for Pope’s guys to get back from missions, shake off mission rust and get experience. I think I showed fairly clearly and obviously that the transfer portal was a major plus for BYU basketball during Pope’s first 4 yrs.

Standing pat with the hand he was dealt after Rose retired would’ve been career suicide for Pope. He’d be fired already and we’d be breaking in a new coach and likely seeing most of our young nucleus of players hitting the transfer portal while the new coach brings in a bunch of new guys to fit his system. That would set us back several more years.